Northern Hwy. accident throws flag man in river
On a normal day our highways and the careless drivers who use them manage to combine for a fair share of traffic mishaps. Throw in an unforeseen obstruction and the situation is an invitation to disaster. Ann-Marie Williams reports on an incident this morning in which a man directing traffic around an overturned container truck got the scare of his life.
Ann-Marie Williams
“A traffic accident around 9:30 this morning on the Northern Highway has left two people with injuries. According to an eyewitness, a black Chevy S-10 pickup coming from a northerly direction was unable to brake. As a result a white pickup which was parked, knocked a guy regulating the flow of traffic straight into the river.”
This is the trailer in question and it belongs to the Customs Department. Reports are that it got struck in the mud and turned over sometime last night and up to late morning it was still obstructing traffic at mile six and a half on the Northern Highway. Eyewitness Keith Leslie was operating his bulldozer when the accident occurred.
Keith Leslie, Eyewitness
A white pickup came and parked there because the traffic is blocked and they had to let through the traffic from this side. The black pickup came and from the same direction of the white pickup, but it went around the white pickup… the driver said he couldn’t stop. Then he knocked the white pickup and ran off over the side and knocked down the guy who was taking care of the traffic in the river over there.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“They were also two other people injured in the pickup I was told.”
Keith Leslie
A lady got a big cut in her head, but at the same time another pickup was coming and the people took the lady out of the pickup and took her to the hospital.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“And it’s all because of this obstruction behind me?”
Keith Leslie, Eyewitness
“Yes, this same truck here.”
One of the occupants of the Chevy, thirty-nine year old Abelina Abelar, received a large cut wound to the head and a fractured left ankle. According to hospital authorities, Abelar will be hospitalized for some time. Twenty year old Sherman Tasher, who was knocked into the river and swam safely to shore, was treated and released for a small cut over the eye.
